pre-listened

This immediately took me out of my hooray for Jay-z brainloop. The most stabbing things about this:

– The fact that someone did this. Someone out in rap cosmos decided to splice this imagery, this audio and release on the eve of one of the most congratulatory days for big Hov, likely to be part of his highlight reel for the remainder of his career. And it’s not random. Check the user’s previous vdos for a hint at the thoughtfulness, including this vintage Yeezy performance.
– The imagery itself. She is nude. Awkwardly positioned. Implications of death or near death, and juxtapositioned with traditional imagery of patriarchal power. She meant something in the original vdo. Here she means something completely different.
– The shortness and loopiness. This isn’t something highly stylized. It’s not a student’s graduating thesis or something made for a branded, amateur youtube channel trying to grow. As slight and as unintended for posterity as something on the internet can be. An expression.

No doubt Jay-z is big man on rap campus. This is just an ephemeral ripple in the media cosmos. Love is love. Carry on.